Golden Lay Verses

Verse 276 (மந்திர வைப்பு)

தமிழ் பாடல்

ஒன்றதனை மூலத்தி லோடவிட்டு

ஒன்றிரட்டி ஸ்வாதிட்டத் தூடேதாக்கி

ஒன்றொன்றொன் றொன்றுமணி பூரத்தோட்டி

ஒன்றெட்ட னாஹதத்தி னுள்ளே வீக்கி

ஒன்றிரண்டெட் டதைவிசுத்தி யாற்றி யப்பால்

ஒன்றீரெட் டிரட்டியதை யாக்ஞைக் கேற்றி

ஒன்றெட்டெட் டதைநாதத் தோச்சிக் கும்பத்

துற்றவனாய்க் காயித்ரி யுருவிட்டேபின்

Transliteration

ondradhanai moolaththi lodavittu

ondriratti svaadittath thoodethaakki

ondronron rondrumani pooraththotti

ondrettan aahathaththi nulle veekki

ondrirandett thaivisuththi yaattri yappaal

ondreerett dirattiyadhai yaaknjaik keetri

ondrettett thainaadath thochchik kumbath

thurravanaayk kaayithri yuruvittepin

Literal Translation

Let the “One” run in the Root (Mūla).

Doubling the One, make it enter through Svādhiṣṭhāna.

Driving it one-by-one, lead it to Maṇipūra.

Expand (inflate) the “one-eight” within Anāhata.

Channel the “one-two-eight” through Viśuddhi and beyond.

Doubling the “one-two-eight,” raise it to Ājñā.

Make the “one-eight-eight” rise in Nāda and in Kumbha;

having become one who has reached (attained), afterwards take on the form of Gāyatrī.

Interpretive Translation

Move the single current of life-force (the “one”) into motion at the root-center. Intensify it step by step—first increasing it at the sacral center, then guiding it through the navel-fire, then expanding it in the heart. Conduct it upward through the throat and beyond, raise it to the command-center between the brows, and let it ascend into inner sound (nāda) and the “kumbha” state (retentive stillness / the vessel-like head-space). When this ascent becomes established, one abides as (or is shaped into) the Gāyatrī—an inner solar-knowledge form rather than a merely recited mantra.

Philosophical Explanation

1) The “One” (ஒன்று) functions as a deliberately compact code. In Siddhar usage it can point to prāṇa, kuṇḍalinī-śakti, the bindu/essence, or the undivided awareness that is made to “run” (ஓடவிட்டு) as a yogic process begins. The verse is structured as a vertical itinerary through the cakras named in Sanskritized Tamil: Mūlādhāra → Svādhiṣṭhāna → Maṇipūra → Anāhata → Viśuddhi → Ājñā, then into Nāda and Kumbha.

2) The verbs signal a practical sādhanā sequence: - “run/flow” (ஓடவிட்டு): initiating circulation of prāṇa/śakti; - “pierce/make enter” (தூடேதாக்கி): forcing passage through a center or knot (granthi-like idea); - “drive/lead” (ஓட்டி): disciplined upward conduction through the channel; - “inflate/expand” (வீக்கி): intensification—often felt as pressure, fullness, blooming, or heat; - “channel/stream” (ஆற்றி): making it move steadily rather than explosively; - “raise” (கேற்றி): lifting into subtler command-space (ājñā); - “make rise into nāda and kumbha” (நாதத் தோச்சிக் கும்பத்): entry into inner sound-current together with a stabilized retention/stillness.

3) Numbers as esoteric measures: the repeated numeric clusters (ஒன்றிரட்டி; ஒன்றெட்ட; ஒன்றிரண்டெட்டு; ஒன்றெட்டெட்) are intentionally cryptic. A common Siddhar strategy is to encode (a) breath-measures (mātrā counts), (b) repetition-counts of a bīja/mantra at each center, or (c) graded intensifications of prāṇa/heat/ojas as one ascends. Reading them as “18 / 128 / 188” is possible, but not compulsory; they may also mean “one-and-eight,” “one-two-eight,” etc., functioning as mnemonic keys rather than arithmetical totals.

4) Yogic–alchemical subtext: the route through Maṇipūra highlights the role of “fire” (digestive/transformative power) in transmuting raw vitality into a refined force that can rise without destabilizing the body-mind. The movement into Anāhata and Viśuddhi suggests purification—affective/subtle-breath refinement—before Ājñā. Nāda indicates the interiorization of attention into the sonic current (anāhata nāda), often associated with mind-cessation. “Kumbha” can signify kumbhaka (breath-retention) and also the “vessel” (the body/head as pot), implying that the force becomes held, contained, and stable.

5) “Taking the form of Gāyatrī” (காயித்ரி யுரு): not merely chanting a Vedic meter, but embodying a principle of illumination—inner solar knowing, the intelligence that “saves” (trāyate) through disciplined directing of life-force. In Siddhar idiom, a deity-name often denotes a realized function/state rather than an external person: the practitioner’s inner light becomes the mantra’s living form.

Overall, the verse reads as a coded manual for kuṇḍalinī/prāṇa ascent through the cakras, with numbered keys marking an increasing discipline of breath/sound/retention culminating in a luminous Gāyatrī-state.

Key Concepts

  • Mūlādhāra (Root center)
  • Svādhiṣṭhāna
  • Maṇipūra (navel fire / transformation)
  • Anāhata (heart, expansion)
  • Viśuddhi (purification at throat)
  • Ājñā (command center)
  • Prāṇa / Kuṇḍalinī as “the One”
  • Nāda (inner sound, anāhata nāda)
  • Kumbha: kumbhaka (retention) / vessel-state
  • Numeric codes as mātrā/mantra-count mnemonics
  • Gāyatrī as embodied illumination (mantra-as-state)

Ambiguities or Multiple Readings

  • Whether the numeric clusters mean literal numbers (e.g., 18, 128, 188) or segmented mnemonic codes (“one-eight,” “one-two-eight,” etc.) for breath counts, mantra repetitions, or energetic stages.
  • The referent of “the One” (prāṇa, kuṇḍalinī, bindu/essence, or nondual awareness) is left intentionally open and may shift across stages of practice.
  • “Kumbha” can be read as kumbhaka (breath retention), as the body/head as a ‘pot’ containing nectar/essence, or as a samādhi-like stabilization (kumbhaka as a natural stilling).
  • “Nāda” may indicate the experiential inner sound current, a specific nāda-nāḍī pathway, or a metaphor for mind becoming subtle and unstruck (anāhata).
  • “Taking the form of Gāyatrī” can mean (a) mantra-realization, (b) identification with a solar-knowledge principle, or (c) a coded statement about a specific internal mantra/nyāsa system linked to the cakras.